Once you start looking past Life360, the options multiply fast, some are dedicated family safety apps, some are free tools already built into your phone, and some are really parental-control apps wearing a location-sharing hat. They're not interchangeable, even though they all get pitched as "track your family" solutions.
This is a straight comparison of the four families of tools people usually end up considering, so you can match the tool to what your family actually needs instead of the one with the loudest marketing.
The four options most families compare
Life360. A broad family safety app with a free tier and paid Gold and Platinum tiers. Per Life360's published plan comparison, crash detection with dispatch is on Gold and Platinum, and roadside assistance is on Platinum.
Find My (Apple). Free and built into Apple devices. Apple's Family Sharing location sharing is described in terms of Apple devices, so a household that mixes iPhone and Android phones may not be able to include everyone.
Google Family Link. Free, and built for supervising a child's device: Google lists screen time limits, app approval and location, and says it is designed for children under 13 (or the applicable age in your country), with separate tools for teens. It is built around a parent-child supervision relationship rather than a two-way family circle.
WheresNow. Cross-platform, built around whole-family safety rather than device supervision: Circles with per-person permissions, one-tap SOS, beta crash detection on Premium, and multilingual chat.
Why the group model matters more than it looks
A lot of these tools assume one flat list: everyone in, everyone sees the same thing. That works fine for a small nuclear family, but it breaks down fast once you're also trying to keep an eye on an aging parent, coordinate a carpool, or give a teenager some independence without full visibility to every adult in the house.
WheresNow's Circles let you separate those groups entirely, immediate family, a carpool group, a grandparent's circle, each with its own membership and per-person permissions for who sees live location, history, or device status. Google Family Link is built around one specific relationship (parent supervising child) rather than a broader family circle.
Safety features, not just tracking
If your main goal is actual emergency response rather than passive tracking, the field narrows quickly. Find My location sharing and Family Link are built around locating a device or supervising a child. Life360 lists crash detection with dispatch on its paid tiers. WheresNow includes one-tap SOS on the free plan and a beta crash detection feature on Premium, both of which notify your Circle; neither contacts emergency services.
Which one is right for your family
All-iPhone household that just wants a free location share? Find My is built into Apple devices. Supervising a young child's first device? Family Link is designed for it. Want a full safety toolkit and don't mind the subscription? Life360 lists a lot on its paid tiers.
If your family is mixed-platform, spans multiple languages, or you want real emergency features without upselling your way there, WheresNow is built around exactly that combination.
Date and sources
Comparisons reflect publicly available information as of October 30, 2026, and competitor plans and features change. Sources: Life360 free vs paid; Apple Support: Share your location with your Family Sharing group; Google Family Link. WheresNow details describe the current app. Last reviewed October 30, 2026.
Download WheresNow and set up your first Circle for free.
